BoG to introduce logo for licenced micro-finance companies

The Bank of Ghana is to come out with a new measure intended to distinguish the country's licenced micro-finance companies from unlicenced ones that are defrauding people.

To this end, the central bank is considering the issuance of a new logo to only licensed micro-finance companies in a move to weed out fraudsters operating in the sector, Assistant Director of Financial Institutions Supervision Department, K.S Osei-Bonsu has revealed.

Statistics available to the BoG indicates that the consolidated assets of micro-finance institutions as of end of June 2015 was GHC 1.29 billion compared to GHC 830 million as at last September.

About 74 per cent of total assets of micro finance institutions are funded by clients deposits while assets of owners of micro-finance institutions total 26 per cent.

According to Mr. Osei-Bonsu, under non-bank financial institutions Act 774, BoG has the mandate to supervise the operations of micro finance institutions while ensuring financial sanity of the industry.

Executive Secretary of the Ghana micro-finance institutions network, Yaw Gyamfi told TV3 Business that inadequate systems to effectively operate a microfinance institution is a major challenge facing the sector.